Lost Meadows Mule Refuge

18/09/2025

Ever seen a 5,700 # chute walk? … What do you think we’re up to tonight? 👀

18/09/2025

We are so sad to hear about this, the passing of Dr. Hodges from our former clinic Western Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Hodges was very supportive of our Refuge and showed us great kindness many times. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, and may they take comfort in the long legacy of animal lives (and their humans) that he helped by being a great veterinarian. 💙

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved Dr. Gary Hodges, DVM. After more than 52 years of dedicated service as a veterinarian, Dr. Hodges fought courageously against an aggressive form of cancer and, sadly, passed away yesterday. His compassion, expertise, and unwavering commitment to animals and their families touched countless lives and will be deeply missed.

Dr Hodges graduated in 1972 and did his Residency at an Equine Hospital in Georgia. In 1973 he came home and opened his own vet clinic and stayed there until he experimented with retirement. Clearly his retirement didn’t suit this hardworking and dedicated man and in 2015 he opened Western Veterinary Hospital where he worked until his “real” retirement in December 2024.

17/09/2025

Please welcome rescue #30, who just arrived all the way from Virginia.

His name is Jester and he was transferred to us by Hope’s Legacy Equine Rescue due to some serious behavioral issues. He will be behaviorally evaluated here but is likely a candidate for sanctuary only, and we are the only dedicated U.S. mule refuge who can provide him with a soft landing in a long-term sanctuary. 💙

Our sanctuary has a limited capacity of 50, and we are already 3 over our budgeted limit at this point in the year. If you can help us raise $500 for Jester’s intake costs, it is truly appreciated while we do our best to keep our doors open to more mules in need for the rest of 2025:

www.mulerefuge.org
PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-our-mules
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836i

15/09/2025

Wanda and Finn have arrived at the Refuge!

Miss Wanda came from West Texas and Finn is all the way from Arizona. They are both currently being quarantined in one of our grazing pastures and decompressing from their trip. Both of these mules are said to be friendly, well-handled and safe to be around, which we will make sure of in the coming days/weeks before deciding whether they qualify for sanctuary or adoption.

Neither are rideable, Finn due to some arthritis in his stifles and Wanda due to an old healed leg fracture.

Despite just coming off the trailer this evening, Wanda especially is already being extra sweet and friendly to us.

We are grateful to be able to say yes to older mules like these who come from responsible homes and are in need of a soft landing. Your support makes it possible for us to keep saying yes to more cases this coming fall.

Thank you so much for finishing our fundraiser of $1,000 today, which covers their first 30 days of intake costs (hay, dewormer, microchips, hoof trim, dental, etc.) 💙

15/09/2025

Rescue #28, named Wanda, is now picked up and in the trailer with #27, named Finn. Both are headed our way! This Molly is being transferred to us from a therapy camp in Texas due to a disability that has left her unable to be ridden. She recently had surgery to fix a splint bone in one of her legs and has recovered well but can no longer work at the required program level.

We still have about $300 left to raise to cover intake costs for both of these mules who were lovingly surrendered with their best interests in mind. If you can help, donate at:

www.mulerefuge.org
PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-our-mules
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836

14/09/2025

Good morning from Pearls (we’ve started calling her Athena)… 😊☀️

14/09/2025

This is a picture of rescue #28, who we just picked up in Arizona! This is an older, arthritic mule named Finn who really needed a soft landing. We are told he is a gentleman and his owner wanted to find him a safe place to live. 💙

His cross-country transport to our Refuge is $1,500, which we are fully covering. Along this route, we are also picking up rescue #29, a tall older Molly mule who recently had a major surgery and also needs a soft landing.

Our Refuge has already said yes to 7 rescue cases for this month, all of which happen to be private surrenders from caring homes who are doing the best thing they can for their mule. ❤️‍🩹

Because of this, we did not hesitate to say yes to each one, but still really need to fundraise for each of their intake costs.

Many rescues, including us, are doing their best to keep their doors open right now. Our sanctuary program still provides daily care to 53 other mules, with 24 others waiting for training, and 9 currently in training.

We also have an opportunity to open up a second training site in Oklahoma next month, which would greatly help to increase our flow of adoptions!

But to keep going at this pace we really need your support now, so if you can help us raise $1,000 for Finn and Abilene’s intake costs, donate at:

www.mulerefuge.org
PayPal.me/mulerefuge
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-our-mules
P.O. Box 479 Caldwell, Texas 77836

12/09/2025

Emma, who had surgery a few months ago to remove her fully blind eye that was causing discomfort. She’s still so beautiful!

09/09/2025

Need a knight in shining armor? Sylvester is your man! 🩶

Our trainer said, “This morning I got caught up in a group of mules - I’d just walked through the gate and I don’t think Raisin noticed but still thought I was on the other side.

He went to kick Sylvester away from the gate and I was in between the two of them.

Sylvester pushed me out of the way and took the full brunt of hind hooves himself.

That’s a mule worth adopting right there.”

Read more about strong, brave Sylvester here: https://www.mulerescue.org/sylvester

09/09/2025

The exciting announcement is…

https://www.mulerescue.org/meet-our-mules

Our Meet Our Mules webpage has a brand new look, AND we added a sorting filter so you can now search for any mule by name, AND by Status, Suitability (if adoptable), Sponsor Status, and Intake Year! 🥳

Click on each mule to read more about them.

We get so many questions about our mules and with 85-100 of them, we understand it can be a little confusing. This should make navigating our website a lot easier! 👩🏻‍💻🧑🏽‍💻

You can also search for mules who have more than one status, such as Waiting for Training/Approved Trainer Eligible. Mules are removed from the page once they are adopted.

We’d love to hear your feedback and are open to suggestions on further improving the filter or what other information you’d like to see on each mule’s profile. 🔎

This also took MANY hours of manual data entry and coding, so if you find something broken, please let me know. 😅

Sponsorships are also brought fully up to date. There are many mules who still need a sponsor, so if you’d like to support a mule, use the filter to choose one!

Let us know what you think of this new feature! 💙

https://www.mulerescue.org/meet-our-mules

08/09/2025

Exciting announcement today! 💙 Can anyone guess what it is? 🤔

08/09/2025

Several photos from our Liberty Hill trainer in the last week!